The mob is the mother of tyrants.

It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.

In many respects, the United States is a great country. Freedom of speech is protected more than in any other country. It is also a very free society.

Moral authority is never retained by any attempt to hold on to it. It comes without seeking and is retained without effort.

There is too much government today. We’ve got to remember the government should be by the people, of the people, and for the people.

A conductor can’t be too arrogant with an orchestra and try to impose himself too much.

When I checked into SEAL Team One many years ago, one of the things that I noticed was there was this old guy, who was younger than I am today, who I decided that I was going to be like. I wanted to emulate what he was doing, and one of those things was he got to work before anybody else.

Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future.

Taking care of children has nothing to do with politics. I think perhaps with time, instead of there being a politicization of humanitarian aid, there will be a humanization of politics.

Politics is like football; if you see daylight, go through the hole.

The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be… The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

I do believe that any successful business starts from the top and works its way down.

I wanted in my lifetime to vote for a radical Native American woman, since my vision of any future that we might have is that it will be led by women and older women.

Where there is no opposition to evil, it multiplies.

Modern education has devoted itself to the teaching of impudence, and then we complain that we can no longer control our mobs.

Tyrants seldom want pretexts.

The best things and best people rise out of their separateness; I’m against a homogenized society because I want the cream to rise.

The society in ‚The Handmaid’s Tale‘ is a throwback to the early Puritans whom I studied extensively at Harvard under Perry Miller, to whom the book is dedicated.

Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead – they call us.

And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.

It is just as important that business keep out of government as that government keep out of business.

If I’m going to get you to do stuff, I need to lead you. I can’t just order you to do it.

War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

There were the questions of what kind of First Lady I would be, what issues would I focus on. Those were the questions that were being pounded on me through the campaign. A lot of times, I wondered what in the world Barack was even getting us into.

If you get to a point where the existing institutions will not bend to the popular will, you have to eliminate the institutions.

I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.

A public man must never forget that he loses his usefulness when he as an individual, rather than his policy, becomes the issue.

Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.

When humor goes, there goes civilization.

Everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear.

Trump just looks stupid trying to appeal to blacks and Latinos.

The issues a president faces are not black and white, and cannot be boiled down into 140 characters. Because when you have the nuclear codes at your fingertips and the military at your command, you can’t make snap decisions. You can’t have a thin skin or the tendency to lash out.

I think that there is never an indispensable leader, you know? I think that there is a time with dignity that one needs to leave.

Most businesses think that product is the most important thing, but without great leadership, mission and a team that deliver results at a high level, even the best product won’t make a company successful.

The action we take and the decisions we make in this decade will have consequences far into this century. If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift toward tragedy. That will not happen on my watch.

There’s some jerks. There’s some big egos. There are a few that think they’re one of the Founding Fathers… in both parties.

My age is very insignificant to me. I don’t think about it, but the world does. The world likes young people in general.

Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to time.

Trump has no sense of shame.

If workers are more insecure, that’s very ‚healthy‘ for the society, because if workers are insecure, they won’t ask for wages, they won’t go on strike, they won’t call for benefits; they’ll serve the masters gladly and passively. And that’s optimal for corporations‘ economic health.

I’m not a one-man show. I was never that in my life, and I never want to be that.

One civilization after another has been wrecked upon the attempt to secure sufficient leadership from a single group or class.

If you want to reach the top, don’t run over others. Likely, the only way you’ll reach the top is to be carried there by others.

This country is being managed to death, being public related to death.

I would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen. Something that I think is very important. It is that, you, we – we own this country. We – we own it. It is not you owning it, and not politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours.

Capitalism is using its money; we socialists throw it away.

Sure there are dishonest men in local government. But there are dishonest men in national government too.

States are not moral agents, people are, and can impose moral standards on powerful institutions.

Obamacare sucks, it can’t be fixed.

I find myself hoping a total end of all the unhappy divisions of mankind by party-spirit, which at best is but the madness of many for the gain of a few.

I always tell people that you should only hire people to be on your team if you would work for them.

To me, a leader is someone who holds her- or himself accountable for finding potential in people and processes. And so what I think is really important is sustainability.

The world is put back by the death of every one who has to sacrifice the development of his or her peculiar gifts to conventionality.

My celebrity status allows me an opportunity, allows me a pulpit to preach and reach out to the people. Not even always preaching but just leading, motivating them by being a leader.

Politics is a noble activity. We should revalue it, practise it with vocation and a dedication that requires testimony, martyrdom, that is to die for the common good.

The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.

To govern means to pillage, as everyone knows.

We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. This isn’t a matter of political correctness. It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith.

Many years ago, I concluded that a few hair shirts were part of the mental wardrobe of every man. The president differs from other men in that he has a more extensive wardrobe.

I consider myself a moderate Republican. I have very, very moderate social views, and I’m pretty strong on, on defense matters.